Your method lacked tact, but at least you got a drunk driver off the streets that night.

Wish you the best in court. Like said above, keep your answers short. Refrain from volunteering extra information you feel may 'help' your position. Remember, already your side of the story may hold more ground than that of the drunk driver, so play your cards right.

 

+1
Answer the question posed to you, no more, no less.

Also, if it's that important that this gets dropped to a lower charge, consider hiring an attorney.

 

Good advice. When I prepare witnesses for trial testimony I always tell them this.

- Keep your answers short, concise and complete
-Imagine EVERY word coming out of your mouth is like a hundred dollars coming out of your wallet... You never want to over pay.

 

Not me, I tell clients:

- the jury is bored, they want to hear your life story
- sweat as much as possible
- avoid eye contact

 

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll update this thread after each hearing just to let you know how it played out. I'm only going to answer what they ask and no more, no stories either.

It is very important that I get mine dropped to a lesser charge. Like I stated elsewhere, if I want to pursue my CDL when I turn 21, I'm gonna have a hard time finding a job with Careless Driving on my record. What confuses me though, is how come it'd be easier for someone with a DUI to get a driving job?

edit: lol jay, deek, thanks for the input as well

Jay, I'm not sure if the other guy will have an attorney at his hearing, but if he does, are there any tricks I should watch out for from the defense if there is a cross examination of some sort?

 

Also, is there any way I can get a copy of the police report to make sure what I plan on saying and what they reported won't clash?

 

Under Cross exam, you're going to be asked "Leading questions".

The leading questions are yes no answers. They're going to try to get you to admit certain facts and use those facts against you. Best thing to combat the examination is to:

-Pause after the question is asked and answer slowly
-Answer each yes and no answer in the same tone/inflection

It's their job to try to trip you up, to put you in a corner and make you appear dishonest.

In your case, just focus on the fact that the other party is the one to blame. Keep pushing the dui issue and that YOU were hit.

If questioning comes up where blame would be asserted to you, answer with a diverting statement about the other party's fault. You are just a victim.

 

Absolutely, call the PD and request a copy. Your attorney should already have one, but it's only a matter of requesting it and paying the associated fees. (not expensive)

 

Had to go to his hearing today. They didn't even need me or the witness. He showed up w/o an attorney and ended up pleading guilty and got hit with a DUI.

If I recall correctly, the officer said his BAC was .147. Legal limit is .08.

I'll find out my fate on Feb. 14th.

 

The officer said before the hearing that since I've been so cooperative with him, that he was going to drop the charge to Failure to Obey a Traffic Control Device and drop the 3 points as well..